


Beautiful People

by ravenclawgirl98



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-11
Updated: 2021-03-14
Packaged: 2021-03-15 03:27:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 8,211
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28681800
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ravenclawgirl98/pseuds/ravenclawgirl98
Summary: Jillian Mantle has been broken down and beaten by the very people that were supposed to make sure that she was safe and protected. Now a quiet and withdrawn girl, what happens when the Boy Who Lived saves her from the taunting of Marcus Flint? Can he get her to see the beauty that lies within her?Disclaimer: I own Jillian and any other original characters, everything else is the property of its respectful owners. This story will have dark themes, including abuse.
Relationships: Harry Potter/Original Female Character(s)
Kudos: 13
Collections: Harry Potter, Harry Potter/Original characters





	1. Chapter 1

The blonde girl of about thirteen years of age entered King's Cross station by herself. She didn't speak to anyone, she just silently pushed her cart, avoiding anyone that would stop to look at her. People wondered what someone so young was doing in a train station all by herself, but no one was actually interested enough to ask her, to question her if she was alright.

Jillian Mantle stopped walking, gazing at the wall that was in between platforms nine and ten. She looked around to make sure that no one was watching before walking through the wall, entering platform 9 3/4. The Hogwarts Express stood before her, looking grand and majestic, but it had lost its splendor for Jillian. The girl stepped onto the train, keeping her head down, entering the first empty compartment that she could find. She tugged at the long sleeves of her sweater, making sure that the bruises that were on her lower arms were adequately hidden, the last thing that she needed was for someone to start asking questions.

Unfortunately, she wasn't left alone for very long. Marcus Flint sauntered into her compartment, sneering at her. "Aw look, the little Mudblood is sitting by herself, not even the blood traitors will be friends with you."

Jillian sighed softly, ignoring his taunts. It had been like this ever since her first year, so needless to say, she was used to Draco and his childish taunting. He was trying to get a rise out of her, but it wasn't going to work, she had dealt with far worse than petty people like Marcus Flint over the past couple of years.

Marcus growled in annoyance when she ignored him. He gripped her hair, smirking in satisfaction as the younger girl cried out in pain. "I don't like when people ignore me, Mantle." He hissed in her ear. "Especially someone as low as yourself. When I talk to you, I expect you to give me the respect that I deserve, understand?" He gripped her hair even tighter, and the Ravenclaw's eyes filled with tears. 

"Oi!" Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived, entered the compartment, a look of anger on his face as he stared Flint down, his wand raised and pointed at Flint's face. "Let her go."

"Potter." Flint scoffed. He released Jillian in such a way that it caused her to bang her head hard against the window. "I should have known that you would come to the little Mudblood's rescue. Always playing the hero, aren't you?"

"I'm not going to tell you again Flint, you better let her go-"

"What's going on in here?" An older man with scars on his face and a kind look in his eyes suddenly stood behind Harry.

"Who the hell are you?" Flint demanded, none of the students had ever seen him before, Jillian would definitely remember someone like him. 

The strange man had been about to respond when suddenly the train stopped. It grew cold in the compartment, and Jillian shivered as she rubbed her arms. What was going on? They weren't at Hogsmeade station yet, and even so, that wouldn't explain why it had suddenly gotten so cold.

Harry pushed past Flint, going over to Jillian and looking at her in concern. "Are you alright?" He asked her, and Jillian nodded her head. "Yeah, I think so." She might have a nasty bruise on her head, but other than that, she would probably be okay. "What happened? Why has it gotten so cold?"

Harry immediately took his jacket off, wrapping it around her shoulders. Jillian protested that he didn't have to do that, but it seemed to fall on deaf ears.

Jillian shivered again, but this time it wasn't the cold. She suddenly started to feel miserable, as though she may never be happy ever again. "W-what's going on?"

She saw a dark shape appear in the doorway of the compartment, and it stopped, hovering above the ground as it looked at them. Jillian looked at Harry, and he looked even worse then she did. His hands clapped over his ears as though he were hearing something horrifying, and a moment later he fell to the floor, unconscious.

" _Expecto Patronum_!" The strange man pointed his wand at the creature, there was a bright light, then with a screech the creature flew off. Jillian kneeled down next to Harry as a boy with red hair and a girl with brown hair that hung in curls entered the compartment.

"Harry!" The girl cried out, and Jillian moved away so that she would have room, obviously she was friends with Harry.

Jillian felt extremely sluggish, and that feeling of misery was still hovering over her like a heavy blanket. 

"Here." The man who had managed to chase the creature away handed her a piece of chocolate. "Eat this, it'll help you feel better."

"Thank you..." Jillian took the chocolate and nibbled on it. Sure enough, the misery began to leave. Harry began to revive a couple of minutes later, and he was given a piece of chocolate as well. Flint had long since vanished, which Jillian was extremely happy about.

Harry looked up at the man. "Who are you?"

"My name is Remus Lupin, I'm going to be your new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor." The train started to move once more, and Remus smiled. "Now, I think that you should all change into your robes, we'll be there shortly." 

After he had left, Jillian shrugged off Harry's jacket, handing it back to him. "Thank you." She murmured. Their fingers brushed as Harry took the jacket, and he blushed lightly. "Um, it's no problem. I'm Harry."

"I know." Jillian said, giggling softly. "It's hard to go to Hogwarts and not know who you are. But it's nice to actually meet you. I'm Jillian, Jillian Mantle."

"You're in Ravenclaw, aren't you?" The brown haired girl asked her, and Jillian nodded her head in response. "I'm Hermione Granger, and this here is Ron Weasley."

"H-hi." Ron stammered out, and Hermione rolled her eyes. "Ignore him, it seems that he doesn't know how to act around girls."

"I do too!" Ron protested. "It's just...whenever I try to talk around girls they always wind up smacking me."

Jillian laughed at that. "Well, you don't have to worry about me smacking you, I'm a firm believer in non violence." She then turned to look at Harry. "Thank you for what you did with Flint, you didn't have to do that."

Harry rubbed the back of his neck. "It's no problem, not like I could just let him hurt you like that. Are you okay by the way? You seemed to hit the window pretty hard."

"I'll be alright." Jillian reassured him. "It doesn't hurt that much." The truth was that it hurt like hell, but by this time, Jillian had become quite the expert at hiding her pain. 

"Harry, we have to go and get changed." Hermione reminded him, and Harry sighed softly. "Right...um, maybe I'll see you later Jillian."

"Yeah, see you." Jillian smiled as the trio left her compartment. After changing into her robes, Jillian continued to stare out of the window, a smile on her face. Harry Potter....just saying the name made her heart go aflutter. Jillian would definitely make sure that she would talk to him again soon, the boy was indeed interesting, and for the first time in three years, Jillian Mantle felt happy.


	2. Chapter 2

As Jillian sat at the Ravenclaw table, she absentmindedly listened to her fellow housemates exchange stories of how their summers had gone. They didn't talk to Jillian, except for Lina, which Jillian quite honestly didn't mind. She enjoyed the solitude. Plus, it meant that she wouldn't have to come up with some cheery story of how her summer had gone.

"How come Harry's staring at you?" Luna asked, and Jillian blushed darkly. "He isn't staring at me."

"He is, too." Luna stated. "He's been looking at you ever since he sat down."

Jillian tried to glance at him without making it look like she was staring at him and sure enough, their eyes met before Harry quickly looked away, and Jillian smiled to herself before looking down at her plate. 

"I think that he likes you." Luna said, and Jillian shook her head. "He's probably going to wind up with the Weasley girl, he didn't even know who I was before today."

"Oh well, I suppose that we'll just have to see. I'm going to be searching the grounds Sunday for Nargles, would you like to join me?"

"Sure." Personally, Jillian didn't think that Nargles were real, but it meant that she got to spend some time with the girl that was really her only friend. Jillian wouldn't be able to go to Hogsmeade anyway, because her parents hadn't signed the permission slip so this would give her something else to do. "Does right after breakfast sound good?"

"That sounds perfect, the best time to search for Nargles is in the late morning. They're late risers, you know, they love to sleep in."

"Sounds like a typical teenager." Jillian said with a laugh. After listening to Dumbledore's speech, where she learned that Dementors were searching for escaped convict Sirius Black, whom Dumbledore assured the students could not enter the castle and harm them, the students were dismissed for bed. Jillian yawned as she walked with Luna back to Ravenclaw Tower, unaware that Harry was watching her retreating back.

  
  


"That's the fourth time that you've looked at her, Harry." Hermione whispered to her best friend as they ate. "For Godric's sake, just go up to her and talk to her."

"I can't just go up to her, Hermione!" Harry exclaimed, and Ron nodded his head as he ate. "Yeah, it's not like he can just go up to her and say 'hey Jillian, I know that I've only just met you, like, an hour ago, but I have this really big crush on you and was wondering if you'd want to be my girlfriend."

Hermione groaned, pinching the bridge of her nose. "First of all, you need to not talk while you're chewing Ronald, no one wants to see the food that you're about to digest. Second of all, of course he isn't going to go up to her and say that, it would most likely scare her off more than anything else. Harry, you need to build up a friendship with Jillian before you do anything else. We have Potions with the Ravenclaws this year, ask her to be your partner in the class, that would be a good start."

"Do you think that I have a chance with her, Mione?"

"I don't know Harry, there isn't a lot that I know about her. She doesn't really talk to anyone except for Looney- I mean Luna. The only thing that I know about her is that she's a Muggle-born."

For the rest of the meal, Harry's mind was occupied by the mystery that was Jillian Mantle.

  
  
  


The next morning, Jillian was shaken awake by Luna. 

"You're always late for your first day back, let's try and break that cycle, hm?"

Jillian always tended to oversleep her first few days back at the beginning of the year to compensate for the rest that she had lost over the summer.

"Sorry, Luna." Jillian ran a hand through her long, blonde locks as she rolled out of bed. Her hair seemed to be going every which way, and after getting dressed and pulling her robes on, she quickly ran a brush through her hair, that was really all that she had time to do, other than to apply some concealer to a couple of bruises that were on her face. Luna was the only other girl in the dorm with Jillian, everyone else had gone down to the Great Hall for breakfast. 

"What happened?" Luna asked, gesturing to the bruises. 

"Oh, you know how clumsy I am. I fell and smacked my face against my dresser at home." It was one of the many excuses that Jillian had if anyone asked questions, but no one ever asked anything, they didn't care enough to ask. That was what happened when you didn't try to make friends though. Jillian was sometimes a bit cold when people talked to her, she had learned the hard way what happened when you trusted people, and she was going to make sure that it didn't happen again. Although she hadn't really had a choice when it came to Luna, the younger girl had been bullied a lot in her first year, and Jillian had unintentionally taken her under her wing. She found Luna to be a bit odd, but then, at least in Jillian's opinion, the odd ones were the best sort, they were what made life interesting.

Once she was ready, Jillian and Luna walked downstairs, about to enter the Great Hall when a voice stopped them.

"Jillian!" Harry jogged up to her, his leather bookbag banging against his leg. "Do you have a minute?"

"I'll let you two talk." Luna said as she nudged Jillian, a playful smile on her face as she entered the Great Hall, leaving the two alone in the hallway.

"Late to breakfast too?" Jillian teased him, and Harry chuckled, nodding his head as he rubbed the back of her neck. "Yeah, I have the bad habit of sleeping in."

"Glad to see that I'm not the only one. What was it that you wanted to talk to me about?"

"Oh, yeah. I realized that Gryffindors and Ravenclaws have Potions together this year, and I was wondering if you'd maybe wanna be lab partners? If you have a friend or whatever that you'd rather sit with, that's perfectly fine-"

"No, I'd love to pair up with you." Jillian told him, and his face immediately brightened. "Really?"

"Yeah, really the only friend that I have in Ravenclaw is Luna, and since she's a year younger than I am, we don't have any classes together."

"That's great. I mean, not great that you don't have any classes with your friend obviously..." Harry trailed off, and Jillian laughed as she shook her head. "Don't worry Harry, I get what you were trying to say. I'll see you in Potions."

Jillian waved before walking into the Great Hall, plopping down next to Luna. 

"So what did Harry want?" Luna asked as Jillian filled up her plate with scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, and buttered toast.

"He asked if I could be his lab partner in Potions."

"Why would he want to partner with  _ you _ ?" Cho Chang sniffed, and Jillian looked up at her. "I haven't the slightest idea, Chang. If you're so interested, then go over to the Gryffindor table and ask him yourself. Although I don't think that your little boyfriend would be too happy about that. Aren't you dating Diggory? I don't believe that he would like it too much if I were to tell him that you were asking around about Harry Potter."

Cho sniffed and turned away. Jillian looked at Luna and the two started to giggle. The day was already off to a great start, and for the first time, Jillian was actually looking forwards to Potions class.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: I'm so sorry for the delay guys, I haven't been feeling well lately. I'm feeling a lot better now though, so we're back in business!

Jillian was one of the first people to enter the Potions classroom. To her surprise, Harry was also there, he had saved them a table in the back of the room. Jillian smiled as she sat next to him, pulling out her Potions textbook and some parchment to take notes with before setting her bag on the floor beside her. "Cho was quite interested in you." She said teasingly. "Seemed to be quite jealous that you chose me to be your Potions partner."

Harry looked confused by this. "Really? Why?"

"My guess? She has a thing for you, even though she's with Cedric. Whether it's because she actually likes you or because you're the Boy Who Lived, I don't know."

"It seems that's why everyone wants to be friends with me, except for Hermione and the Weasleys."

"You won't have to worry about that with me." Jillian assured him. "Popularity is the furthest thing from my mind, I couldn't care less about it."

"I wish that I could choose to not be popular." Harry said with a sigh. "I would choose it in a heartbeat. Being popular is extremely stressful, I honestly don't know how Cedric does it."

Students started to file into the classroom, Hermione and Ron bickering with each other as they sat down.

"What's the deal with them?" Jillian asked Harry. "They bicker like they're an old married couple. Are they together or what?"

Harry laughed softly at that. "Everyone seems to think so but so far as I know, nothing romantic has happened between them, not yet anyway. I imagine that it's only a matter of time though."

Snape entered the room then, and everyone immediately hushed up. As JIllian made notes of what was in the Skeleton Regenerating POtion, her thoughts turned to Harry. She wondered why exactly Harry had chosen her to be his Potions partner. She wasn't exactly the best in Potions, that would be Hermione, no surprise there.

When it came time to actually make the potion, she turned to Harry. "I'll crush the Scarab Beetles and you can cut up the Chinese Chomping Cabbage?" She suggested, and Harry nodded his head. "yeah, sure." He responded before going to do just that. He jumped back as the cabbage tried to bite him, and Jillian giggled as she crushed the beetles. "Need some help over there?" She teased him, and Harry blushed darkly as he shook his head. "No, it's okay, I got it." He insisted, and Jillian giggled again before placing the crushed beetles into the cauldron.

Eventually, Harry managed to get the cabbage cut up, although he nearly lost a finger in the process. Snape sighed as he inspected the bloody finger. "Why does it not surprise me that you were able to injure yourself on the first day, Potter? Mantle, take him to the hospital wing."

Harry and Jillian walked out of the classroom, Harry clutching his finger. "Maybe I should have been the one to handle the cabbage." Jillian said playfully, and Harry laughed a bit. "Maybe you should have, although I probably would have hurt myself cutting up the Scarab Beetles too."

"You can be quite clumsy, yet somehow you always manage to avoid death."

"Guess that I'm just lucky." Harry shrugged his shoulders. "Dumbledore said something about my mother's love protecting me. I don't really understand it, but then, there's a lot about the wizarding world that I don't understand."

"You and me both." Jillian agreed. "You should have seen my first time in Diagon Alley, I was so lost and confused. It really didn't help matters that I didn't have anyone to show me around."

"Didn't your parents come with you?" Harry asked, and Jillian bit her lip before shaking her head. "No, they didn't come with me, they weren't exactly...supportive, of my being a witch."

"My aunt and uncle are the same way, and don't even get me started on my cousin Dudley. They're absolutely horrid to me, although things have gotten a lot better considering that I don't live in a cupboard anymore."

"You lived in a cupboard?" Jillian asked incredulously, and Harry nodded his head. "From the time that I could walk until I was eleven years old. Once I got my first Hogwarts letter, they moved me into the spare bedroom. Uncle Vernon got really paranoid, he even went so far as to have us stay in a shack in the middle of God only knew where so that Dumbledore and them couldn't find us, but that failed, obviously."

They entered the hospital wing, and Madame Pomfrey tutted as she looked at Harry's finger. "You have the potter misfortune, it would seem."

"Potter misfortune?" Harry asked, and Madame Pomfrey nodded as she applied some Dittany to the cut to heal it. "Your father was always unfortunate when it came to getting injured, though that was probably due to the fact that he was a reckless Quidditch player. From the games that I've witnessed you playing, you aren't much better."

Harry blushed a bit. "I'm just really focused on getting the Snitch." He objected, and Madame Pomfrey shook her head. "You'd think that you'd have more concern for your health then a foolish game."

Jillian bit back a laugh at the put out that was on Harry's face, and she also tried to push away the thought that Harry looked cute when he made that face. 

"You alright Jillian?" Harry asked her. "Your face is kind of pink."

"Y-yeah, I'm fine." She stuttered, and Madame Pomfrey looked at her. "You  _ are  _ looking rather flushed, dear. Perhaps you're experiencing an adverse reaction to something."

"I'm fine, really!" Jillian protested. "I'm not feeling sick or anything."

"Are you quite certain? Maybe I should keep you here for a little while for observation...Mr. Potter, you can return to your classes. Considering that I find everything satisfactory, Miss Mantle will be along shortly."

"Can't I stay?" Harry asked, and Madame Pomfrey shook her head. "I don't imagine that Professor McGonagall would be too pleased with me if I were to keep you any longer than necessary. Run along now."

"I'll be alright Harry." Jillian assured him, and Harry nodded uncertainly. "Uh, alright, I guess that I'll see you later then." He left a moment later, and Jillian sighed as Madame Pomfrey made her get onto one of the beds. She was glad that Harry didn't know the real reason why she had been blushing, that would have been quite the embarrassing conversation to have, especially with Madame Pomfrey standing right there.

"Well, I don't see anything wrong with you." Madame Pomfrey stated. "And the redness in your cheeks is already starting to go away. I suppose that I can release you, but if you start to feel ill at all, then come right back here."

Jillian quickly nodded her head before leaving the hospital wing, although a few minutes later she really wished that she hadn't. Draco Malfoy had seen her and was making a beeline right for her.


	4. Chapter 4

Jillian gulped nervously as Draco continued to walk towards her. He was definitely walking towards her, there was no one else but the two of them in the hallway. Jillian had nowhere to run or hide, and judging by the smirk that was on Draco's face, he wasn't going over to her to just make polite conversation.

"Where's your little boyfriend, Mudblood?" He said with a sneer, and Jillian tried to push her way past him. "I don't know what you're talking about, Malfoy."

Draco grabbed her arm roughly, causing Jillian to wince. "Everyone knows that Potter follows you around like a lost puppy. I bet that you've given him amortentia or something, haven't you?"

"I haven't done anything to him." Jillian retorted. 

"Oh please. You really think that Potter would willingly fall for someone like you? Not only are you a Mudblood, but you're an ugly one to boot. Even Granger has more than you do in the way of looks, and that's really saying something."

"Just let me go." Jillian muttered, her eyes downcast, and Draco started to laugh. "You're really pathetic Mantle, you know that? You don't even belong here, you shouldn't be at Hogwarts, you should have just stayed with your Muggle parents."

He let her go and walked away, and Jillian stared at the floor. Maybe he was right, maybe she didn't belong here. No one would really miss her if she left. Luna might, but no one else. Harry would move on, and so would Luna, eventually.

As it turned out, more people would miss Jillian than she had thought. That night at dinner, Hermione sat down next to Harry. "Have you seen Jillian?" She asked him. "No one's seen her all day, Luna was asking me if I'd seen her, she's really worried about her."

Harry shook his head. "I haven't seen her since I left the hospital wing, Madame Pomfrey made her stay behind because she was looking a bit flushed."

Hermione raised an eyebrow at that but didn't say anything about it. She was about to say something when Draco called out across the room. "Looking for your girlfriend Potter? I saw her when she was leaving the hospital wing, don't have a clue where she is now though. Maybe the Mudblood took my advice and finally left Hogwarts. Good riddance in my opinion, just one less Mudblood that we need to worry about staining the school's reputation."

Harry's hands curled into fists, and he would have gone over and punched Draco if Ron and Hermione hadn't held him back. 

"You can't worry about Malfoy right now." Hermione told him, and Ron nodded his head. "You can bet that Malfoy probably said something to her that pissed her off, you should find her before she does something to hurt yourself."

"We'll help you look." Hermione added, and she looked at Luna as the blonde-haired girl made her way over to them. "Are you going to look for Jillian?"

"Yeah." Harry nodded his head.

"Do you mind if I come with you? I haven't seen her for hours and I'm really worried about her."

"Of course you can." Harry responded. "The more people that we have looking for her, the better." 

The four scurried off, and they scoured the entire castle for her, and they didn't see her anywhere, she wasn't even in her dorm, which was where she usually went if she needed some sort of privacy. The longer that they looked with no sign of Jillian, the more worried that Harry got. He bit his lip nervously. "Where is she? We should have found her by now."

"Maybe she went into the Forbidden Forest." Ron nervously suggested, and Harry's eyes widened. "You don't think that she would have?"

"I think that it all depends on what exactly it was that Malfoy said to her." Hermione stated. "If he made her upset enough, then she very well might have. We should get Hagrid's help, he knows the Forbidden Forest better than anyone."

They all hurried to Hagrid's hut, and when Hagrid was told about their worries, he stroked his beard in thought. "Are you sure that she went into the Forest?"

Harry shook his head. "No, but we haven't been able to find her anywhere else Hagrid. Do you think that you could help us look through the Forest for her?"

"I'm not sure that you should be in the Forest Harry, it's a dangerous place fer students."

"Please Hagrid. She's my friend, I need to make sure that she's alright."

Hagrid sighed. "Fine, but you lot stay close to me, got it? Dumbledore'd have my head if I let anything happen to any of yer."

They all quickly nodded their heads, although Ron started to look more nervous the closer that they got to the Forest.

"No need to look so scared, Ron." Hagrid told him, patting the Weasley boy on the back. "Yer with me, I'll keep yer safe."

For some reason, that really didn't make Ron feel better. "We better not come across any spiders." He muttered as they went deeper and deeper into the Forest.

Right now, Harry wasn't worried about spiders, or werewolves, or anything else that they might come across. The only thing that he was worried about was Jillian's safety. And what he was going to do to Malfoy if he found Jillian hurt in any way.

"Don't worry Harry." Hermione tried to reassure him. "I'm sure that she's alright, she may not even be in the Forest."

"Jillian's strong." Luna added. "She may not feel like she is, but she's strong."

Harry nodded his head, but the girls’ words did little to make him feel better. The only thing that would be able to help him now would be if they found Jillian safe and sound.

There was a galloping sound, and a moment later the centaur Firenze ran up to them. "I found the girl for whom you are seeking." He said to them, and for a moment Harry's heart started to rise in his chest before it started to sink back down again. "But she is not in a good condition, an Acromantula got to her."

"What?" Harry gasped, and he looked up at Hagrid, whose face was grave. "It may not be too late, there's still a chance that we can save her. Firenze, can you bring us to her?"

The centaur led them deeper into the Forest, and Harry gasped at what he saw. Jillian was laying on the forest floor, and from the looks of it, she wasn't breathing.


	5. Chapter 5

"JILLIAN!!" Harry ran towards Jillian's seemingly lifeless body, scooping her into his arms. "Jillian, come on, wake up!"

"Harry, let me see 'er." Hagrid ordered, and Harry hesitated for a moment, not wanting to let Jillian go.

"Harry." Hermione said gently. Her face was as white as a sheet, but she was managing to stay calm despite the situation that they were finding themselves in. "You need to give Jillian to Hagrid if you want there to be any chance of her getting help before it's too late."

Harry bit his lip, looking down at Jillian before slowly handing her over to Hagrid. "Is she...is she dead?"

Hagrid didn't answer Harry. Instead, he laid Jillian on the ground and pressed his ear to her chest, trying to listen for a heartbeat. Everyone held their breath as they waited for a response. Was Jillian even alive? Or had they been too late? Harry was filled with questions, like what the hell Jillian was doing in the Forbidden Forest in the first place. Jillian was a smart girl, she had to know that it was dangerous. So what had driven her to venture in there in the first place?

Hagrid's voice cut through Harry's thoughts. "She's got a heartbeat. It's barely there, but it's somethin' at least. We need to get her to Madame Pomfrey, and quickly."

"We'll never make it back to the castle on time." Hermione said. "It's too far away!"

"I can take her." Firenze said. "I can run faster than any of you. Put her on my back and I'll take her to the castle."

"I'll come with." Harry said. "Someone has to come to make sure that Jillian doesn't fall off of your back."

Hagrid set Jillian onto the centaur's back before helping Harry to get on. "Go straight to the hospital wing, Madame Pomfrey might have some Antidote to Uncommon Poisons left."

Firenze took off, and Harry's arms wrapped around Jillian's waist, holding her securely against him so that she wouldn't fall. "You're going to be okay." He whispered in her ear. Really he was reassuring himself more then her, since she probably couldn't even hear him at the moment. She  _ had  _ to be okay, Harry refused to face the fact that he might lose her, it just wasn't a possibility for him. 

Students looked at them in surprise and shock as they arrived on the school grounds, but Firenze didn't pay any attention to them, instead continuing inside, almost running into a few students in the process. 

"Oi, watch where you're going, you big oaf!" Draco shouted in alarm, which caused Harry to smirk a little bit. "You should have run him over, it would have done us all a huge favor."

Firenze chuckled a bit at that. "Maybe so, but I would rather not have to explain the death of one of these children to the Headmaster, I cannot imagine that Dumbledore would be too happy with me for doing that."

They arrived at the hospital wing, and Madame Pomfrey scurried over to them, clearly she wasn't used to having a centaur running through her school. "Goodness gracious, what happened?"

"Acromantula." Firenze explained as Harry got off and helped Madame Pomfrey to lift Jillian off of the centaur's back. Pomfrey laid Jillian down on one of the beds before rushing to a cabinet, and although Harry couldn't see what it was that she was doing because of the cabinet door blocking his vision, he could hear the sound of glass vials clinking together as she moved them around, trying to find the vial that she was looking for.

She finally found the right one and scurried back over to Harry and Jillian, forcing the unconscious girl's mouth open before tilting her head back. She poured the contents of the vial into Jillian's mouth, and the liquid traveled down her throat.

"How will we know if it's worked?" Harry asked, biting his lip hard enough that it started to bleed.

"Her breathing will normalize, and her heart rate will pick up." Madame Pomfrey informed him. The hospital wing doors opened to reveal Professors Dumbledore and Flitwick. 

"Hagrid just informed me of what has happened." Dumbledore said as he walked in, Flitwick struggling to keep up with Dumbledore's much longer strides. 

"What she was even doing in the Forbidden Forest in the first place is what I want to know." Flitwick added. "Miss Mantle is one of my most well-behaved students, she has never broken the rules before."

"I think that I might have an answer to that." Professor McGonagall walked in, looking positively enraged. She wasn't alone though. She had Draco Malfoy gripped tightly by the ear, and the boy was yelping in pain. "Tell the truth Malfoy, we shall know if you are lying."

"Alright, just let me go!" The blonde-haired boy complained, rubbing his sore ear once McGonagall had released him. "All that I did was tell her the truth. I told her that she was an ugly little Mudblood and that no one would ever want her, not even Potter."

"You did  _ what _ ?!" Harry leaped at Draco, and he probably would have beat him to a pulp if Dumbledore and McGonagall had not pulled him away. 

"Now is not the time for a fight Harry." Dumbledore told him. "I understand that Jillian is a friend of yours, and you can be assured that Draco will receive the proper punishment. But I think that you and Miss Mantle have some talking to do once she awakens. Firenze, thank you for bringing her here so quickly. Because of you, we were able to save a student instead of having to notify her parents of her untimely death. Still, her parents will have to be notified that she was injured, and I shall inform them at once, once Mister Malfoy has been dealt with of course." He left the hospital wing with McGonagall following him, and she made sure that Draco was following them as well. 

Harry sighed, taking a seat beside Jillian's bed, holding her hand tightly in his own. It felt cold to the touch, as though she were on the brink of death. Which she had been, and if they hadn't found her when they had, if they had been even a couple of minutes later...Harry didn’t even want to think of what would have happened.

"Oh Jillian..." He murmured, pushing some blonde wisps of hair behind her ear. "Why would you do that? You had to know how dangerous it was." Harry was certain that Madame Pomfrey would try to make him leave at some point, but he would flat out refuse. He didn't care if he would receive a dozen detentions for it, he was going to stay right here until Jillian woke up, no matter how long it would take. 


	6. Chapter 6

TW: Mentions of abuse and suicidal attempts

It had taken four or five days, but eventually, Jillian woke up. SHe did so groggily, blinking the bleariness from her eyes. She was in the hospital wing, but had no recollection of how she had gotten there. The last thing that she remembered was walking through the Forbidden Forest before feeling a sharp pain stabbing her, then everything after that was dark.

Jillian heard a snore and turned to see Harry sitting in a chair, his head drooping as he slept peacefully. How long had he been here for? Guilt flooded Jillian's body. Had he been the one to find her? She didn't think that he would have, he had placed himself in danger because of her. What if he had been attacked by an Acromantula too? Jillian didn't even want to think about that possibility.

"You're a very lucky girl, Miss Mantle." 

Jillian looked up at Madame Pomfrey, who was speaking in a low voice so that she didn't wake up Harry. "If you had come to me just a few minutes later, then you wouldn't be sitting here right now. Whatever would compel you to go into the Forbidden Forest?"

Jillian looked down at her hands and she bit her lip. "I'm sorry Madame Pomfrey, I...I just...I wasn't thinking." Well, she had been thinking, just not about the possibility of her actions having repercussions on other people. 

"You very clearly were _not_ thinking. The Forbidden Forest is not for students to go venturing alone into. You could have gotten yourself killed, you know that?"

Jillian did know that, that was why she had gone into the Forest in the first place. She didn't know what else to say besides that she was sorry.

At that moment, Dumbledore entered the room. "Ah, Miss Mantle, I'm glad to see that you're awake. If you feel able, I would like for you to accompany me to my office, there are some things that we need to discuss."

Jillian thought for sure that she was going to be expelled. She followed Dumbledore to his office, fear rising in her heart. If she did get expelled, she knew for sure that she would in fact be dead, her father would see to that. Although he would probably be pleased to find out that she got expelled. She entered his office, taking a seat across from his desk.

Dumbledore was silent for a moment, his hands folded on his desk. "Miss Mantle, it's clear to me that you had a certain intent when you went into the Forbidden Forest. What I want to know is what your intent was, if you would be so kind as to share it with me."

Jillian bit her lip, her eyes filled with uncertainty, and Dumbledore gave her a reassuring smile. "It's all right, Miss Mantle, anything that you say here won't leave this room, I can assure you of that."

Jillian nodded, taking a deep breath. "Madame Pomfrey told me that I was lucky the Acromantula bite didn't kill me, but that...that's why I went into the forest."

"You wanted to get bit by an Acromantula?"

"No, I...I...I wanted to die."

Dumbledore's face turned grave. "I see. And why did you think it so imperative to end your life?"

"Life at home, it...it's hard. My parents hate the fact that I'm a witch, and they make sure that I know it too. And then Draco told me some things too, and I guess that it was all a little too much for me, and I...I tried to end things."

Dumbledore nodded his head, stroking his white beard thoughtfully. "Miss Mantle, what exactly is life like for you when you go home during the summer holidays?"

"Not the best. I usually just stay in my room except for meals. Usually if I'm in my room then there isn't a chance of me pissing my father off."

"And how does your father treat you?"

"He...he gets angry a lot, he'll hit me, call me a freak." Jillian shrugged her shoulders. "It's something that I'm used to by now."

"It is a sad thing indeed when a father resorts to hitting their child simply because they are different. I knew that something was odd when we informed him of your injuries. The reply that I got back from him was quite interesting. If he is harming you, then we shall have to see about getting a different living situation for you."

Jillian looked up at him. "Can you even do that?"

"If the situation calls for it, then yes. My top priority is the safety of my students, and when one of them is in danger, then it is my duty to rectify it and keep them as safe as I possibly can. I shall write to the Wizarding Child Welfare department at the Ministry of Magic. They are going to investigate and if they deem it unsafe, then you are going to be removed and placed with a wizarding family that shall take care of you."

Jillian was sort of unsure about all of this. What if whatever family that she was placed with turned out to be even worse than the family that she was already living with?

Dumbledore stood up, and Jillian did as well. "I think that you should return to your dorm and try to get some rest." Dumbledore told her. "I'm sure that you need it. I shall keep you informed of events as they unfold, but I wouldn't worry too much. Is there anyone that you can stay with for upcoming holidays such as Christmas?"

"I mean...I suppose that I could stay with Luna for Christmas if it came down to it." It wasn't that Jillian didn't want to spend Christmas with Luna, she just didn't want to put anyone out or feel like she was being a burden on anyone. 

"Wonderful, I'm quite certain that Xenophilius would love to have another child in the house for Miss Lovegood to be with, I'm sure that it can be quite lonely, what with her being an only child and all. Try not to worry too much Miss Mantle, I'm sure that everything is going to work out for you in the end."

Jillian wasn't too sure about that, but she didn't say anything about it, she just nodded her head and left his office, her mind going every which way. One of the major things that she was feeling was guilt. She hadn't been thinking about how important she was to Luna, she was one of the girl's only friends, and she had been so ready to just leave her so that she could end her pain. Well, she wasn't going to do that. She was going to be strong, she was going to prove people like her father and Draco Malfoy wrong. She did have value, she had worth, and she was going to make sure that everyone knew it too. 


	7. Chapter 7

TW: Scene of bullying

Luna was only too happy to have Jillian spend Christmas with her and her father. "I've been telling Dad about you, he's been dying to meet you."

"You're sure that I wouldn't be a bother?"

"Oh, not at all, he'll love having another person at the house, it always gets sort of lonely when it's just the two of us."

It was settled then, Jillian was going to be spending Christmas with the Lovegoods. Jillian was excited, this was the first Christmas in a few years that she had actually been looking forward to. They would be spending some time with the Weasleys too, as the Lovegoods had been invited over to the Burrow for Christmas Eve dinner. 

"Mum usually invites every Christmas Eve, ever since Luna's mum died." Ron explained to Jillian. Luna had told Jillian once or twice about Pandora Lovegood, she had died when Luna was nine, when a spell that she had been casting had backfired. That was the reason why Luna could see the Thestrals that pulled the carriages, because she had been there when Pandora had died. 

"Mum used to be good friends with her mum." Ron continued. They were in the library, working together on a Potions project. Snape had separated Jillian and Harry, much to the Ravenclaw's dismay. Not that Ron was terrible to work with, but Jillian enjoyed being around Harry. They had grown closer ever since the Acromantula incident. Harry had become fiercely protective over her, and whenever Draco or Marcus Flint or anyone else tried to start things with her, Harry would immediately jump to her aid, which was something that Jillian was thankful for, it was nice to have someone who cared.

"Alright, so over the break, you'll write about dragon's blood and its use in potions, and I'll write about the use of powdered dragon claws." Jillian said, and Ron sighed heavily. 

"This is going to take me all of Christmas break." He complained as they packed up their things. "What's the use of even having a break if all you do is work the entire time?"

Jillian shook her head. "What would you rather do? Do the work and get at least a passing grade from Snape or not do the work and get yelled at by both Snape and Hermione? I don't know about you, but I would rather choose the first option, I know how terrifying Hermione can be when she's mad."

While Jillian had never had to face Hermione's wrath, she had witnessed other people getting to experience it, and that was something that she would rather not have to go through. Ron gulped nervously at the very thought of it. "Yeah, maybe you have a point about that." He admitted, causing Jillian to giggle a bit. As scary as Snape could be, they all realized that Hermione was a force to be reckoned with the day that she had punched Malfoy in the mouth, and Jillian was sure that it would be quite a while before he tried to bully Hermione again.

As Christmas drew nearer, you could sense the happiness and joy that was in the air. Students had a skip to their steps as they talked with their friends about their various Christmas plans. 

"You'll write to me won't you?" Jillian and Harry were in the Great Hall, everyone was going to be leaving the following morning, Harry for the Burrow, and Jillian to the Lovegood house. 

"Of course I'll write to you." Jillian promised. "I'll write every day if that's what you want me to do."

"Well, isn't this sweet?" Draco sauntered over to them, Crabbe and Goyle trailing behind him as they always did. Harry lightly gripped Jillian's hand as he glared at the platinum blonde boy. "Piss off Malfoy, no one asked for your opinion."

"You know, this is really nice of you, Potter, spending time with the girl that no one but the school crazy wants to hang out with."

"Plenty of people want to hang out with Jillian." Harry retorted, causing Draco to start laughing. "Then how come when she isn't with you or Looney Lovegood, she's off by herself? It's because she doesn't have any other friends is why. Honestly, she should have just done us all a favor and died in the Forbidden Forest-"

"SHUT UP!!" Harry launched himself at Draco, who shrieked as he was tackled to the ground. Almost immediately a crowd had gathered, cheering Harry on as he repeatedly punched Draco, his face dark with rage. 

Jillian grabbed Harry's arm, trying to pull him away but to no avail. It took Professor Lupin for Harry to finally stop assaulting Draco, whose pale face was spotted red with blood. 

"Miss Mantle, take Harry to my office so he can cool off." Lupin demanded as he pulled Draco to his feet. "I'll deal with him once I've taken Mister Malfoy to the hospital wing."

Jillian quickly nodded her head, pulling Harry away from the scene. "You shouldn't have done that." She scolded him as they left the Great Hall.

"I couldn't let him keep talking about you like that, Jillian!"

"It's not like he hasn't said stuff like that in the past-"

"But that's exactly my point! He's _always_ saying stuff like that, and he keeps on saying stuff like that because he thinks that he can get away with it, just because he's a Malfoy." Harry walked with Jillian into Professor Lupin's office, and Jillian glanced around at the various dark objects that the Defense teacher had so that he could teach the class about them. 

Almost right away, Jillian's gaze went towards the small wardrobe that was up against the wall. What Jillian didn't know was that it contained a Boggart, because she had been in the hospital wing recovering from the Acromantula bite that she had sustained. A thump came from the closet, causing Jillian to frown in confusion. What was in there? She walked closer to the wardrobe, her fingers curling around the knob.

"Jillian, don't!" Harry urged her, but it was too late. Jillian opened the wardrobe, and the Boggart took the shape of Jillian's father as it tumbled out. 


End file.
